Cheshire players follow the leader

CHESHIRE stars Bronte Law and Gemma Clews are hot on the tail of international Alex Peters who holds a one-shot lead at the head of a packed leaderboard at the halfway stage of the English women’s amateur championship at St Enodoc in Cornwall.
Alex added a second round score of 72 to her opening 73 and is three-over par on the demanding course.
Bronte and Gemma are just a shot off the pace so tomorrow’s final 36 holes – contested by the top 32 players and ties – promises to be very exciting with eight players within five shots of the lead and a host of others tightly bunched behind them.

Right in the hunt are former champion Hayley Davis of Dorset, Sophie Newlove of Nottinghamshire, Jess Bradley of Devon, Bethan Popel of Gloucestershire and defending champion Sarah-Jane Boyd of Cornwall.

A total of 33 players made the halfway cut as the course again set a stern test for the competitors. There were tears from some as the rough, the putting surfaces and the steadily strengthening wind got the better of them, but there were also impressive displays of course management and solid scoring.

Gemma kept her firm grip on second place when she returned 74. “I played well and holed some important putts,” she said. “It was tough on the back nine when the wind got up.”

Bronte, who played the back nine in one-under par to return her second 73 of the championship, said: “If you can get through the last five holes in level par you will have a nice scoreIf you don’t, you can be swallowed up.

“I was hitting the ball really well – I missed maybe one fairway – and I’m very happy to be in with a score like that, whatever anyone else does. I did the best I could,” she said.